Gaugericus

Saint Gaugericus, in French Saint Géry (also known as Gorik, Gau; in Walloon, Djèri) ( 550 – August 11, 619) was a bishop of Cambrai, France.

Biography

He was born to Roman parents, Gaudentius and Austadiola, at ''Eposium'' (present Carignan).Van der Essen, Léon. "St. Géry." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 3 June 2018 Tradition states that Bishop Magnerich, successor of Saint Nicetas as Bishopr of Trier was so impressed with the piety of the young man that he ordained him deacon, but not before Gaugericus had memorized the entire psalter. Magnerich entrusted Gaugericus with the pastoral care of the city of Cambrai.

Bishop

When the see of Cambrai-Arras fell vacant around 585, Gaugericus was elected bishop with the consent of Childebert II.Butler, Alban. “Saint Gery, or Gaugericus, Bishop and Confessor”. ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints'', 1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 11 August 2016
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Gaugericus was consecrated by Egidius, bishop of Reims. Bishop Géry devoted himself to fighting paganism, ransoming captives and visiting rural districts and '' villae''. Gaugericus founded churches and abbeys, including a monastery dedicated to St. Medard, to host relics, which contributed powerfully to giving Cambrai both the appearance and functions of a city.

He himself went on pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Martin in Tours. Géry also built a church dedicated to Saint Martin, where he had relics of this saint deposited. The bell tower of this church was to become, much later, the city's belfry. His work was crucial to the development of the city, particularly in terms of the number of buildings he left behind and the pilgrimages he attracted.

Between 584 and 590, he transferred the episcopal see from Arras to Cambrai. He maintained close relations with King Chlothar II, the new lord of Cambrai after the death of Childebert, and assisted at the Council of Paris in 614.

Traditions

According to tradition, around the year 580, Gaugericus built a chapel on the largest island in the Senne near Brussels. Saint-Géry Island is named after the church.

A legend holds that Géry built a chapel (to Saint Michael, later the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula), which soon became a church and gave birth to the city of Brussels, from which he had chased a dragon whose lair was located where the Impasse de la Poupéeimpasse du Dragon was later built.

Veneration

After serving as bishop for thirty-nine years, he died August 11, 619 and was buried in the church of Saint Médard, which he had founded at Cambrai. Veneration commenced immediately after his death.

When the church of Saint Medard was demolished by the emperor Charles V for the building of the citadel, the canons were removed, and took with them the relics of the saint, to the old church of Saint Vedast, which from that time has borne the name of Saint Gery. The Church of Saint-Géry is one of the oldest in Cambrai, and a listed historical monument since 1919.

His feast day is mentioned in the martyrology of Rabanus Maurus for August 11.

Relics

Relics of the saint were given to Carignan, to the church of Saint-Géry in Valenciennes, to the abbey of Saint-Sépulcre in Cambrai, which became a cathedral after the destruction of the old one after the Revolution, to the abbey of Arras, to the abbey of Liessies, to the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre in Douai, to the church of Saint-Donat in Bruges, to the church of Saint-Géry in Bierne, and to the church of Saint-Géry in Brussels8. His reliquary is still on display in the south transept of the church of Saint-Géry in Cambrai.

Patronage

He is the patron saint of many churches in the regions of Cambrai, Bierne, Valenciennes and Arras, as well as in Belgium.

During his wanderings he freed many prisoners, criminals, children taken into slavery. St-Géry is the patron of Cambrai, and of prisoners.Arduino, Fabio. "San Gaugerico di Cambrai", Santi e Beati, May 30, 2006
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Image:Blaregnies 051001 (2).jpg, St. Géry church at Blaregnies
Image:040 Arras ( 62000 ).JPG, Church of St. Géry, Arras
Image:Goriks kerk.jpg, Church of Saint Gaugericus in Sint-Goriks-Oudenhove
Image:Rebecq JPG00.jpg, St. Gaugericus' church, Rebecq, Belgium

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaugericus
550s births
619 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Bishops of Cambrai
6th-century Frankish bishops
7th-century Frankish bishops
7th-century Frankish saints
Medieval Belgian saints